Of Portals and the Trouble They Bring
by Zurizip
Summary: A 13k word story written as a friend's xmas present. Teen Titans cartoon/comic verse slight blend, plus original characters, done with an eclectic mix of humor, romance, and darkness. Alternate Universes and Zombies included free.


_A/N: This was written as a christmas present to a friend. The universe is a perversion of the cartoon and the comic versions (thus why they're in SanFran). The original charaters are from a story I previously wrote which is not available at this time. There should be no trouble understanding though, and no, neither are Mary Sues. Finally, this story is rated M for a reason_. _I doubt you clicked on it if you were likely to take offence, but just a friendly warning. I like reviews, especially if you tell me any choice or part in specific that you liked - feel free to be verbose (or not!)._

**Of Portals (And the Trouble They Bring), a Teen Titans/OU Fanfiction**

Someone had dropped another someone (or two? Even the island's extensive network wasn't sure.) onto the island, and no one quite knew what was going on. Whether this was a result of the unexpected arrivals or simple, normal life on Titan's island, Robin wasn't entirely sure, but the shrieking alarms were definitely giving him a humdinger of a headache.

"Cyborg, will you get those things off so I can think for half a second!?" He asked, holding his hands over his ears.

Cyborg didn't seem terribly affected – he could probably filter the alarm's tones out. Robin saw Starfire and Raven stumble into the main room. Beast boy wasn't in attendance yet, but he sometimes slept as an armadillo, which he said cut down on being awoken. Maybe that was why he always woke up so annoyingly happy.

"-----grah! We're awake already!" Cyborg finished as he shut off the bells and whistles.

"Mind explaining why we're all up at such an ungodly hour?" Raven drawled, cloak drawn tight against the chill of the night. Raven usually didn't mind the cold, but such a rude awakening put her off.

"I would also ask why we have been awoken so early in the night." Starfire said, floating listlessly. "Has dawn come early and without light?"

"Couple of intruders." Cyborg said, pointing on the screen where two red dots were slowly making their way in the direction of the tower. "Who wants to check'em out?"

"Perhaps they are friends?" Starfire asked hopefully.

"Doubtful." Robin and Raven said at the same time. "If we're lucky, they're just lost." Robin continued.

"Oh." The alien girl said, deflated. "But-"

"Cyborg, get Beast Boy up." Robin said. "Starfire, you and Raven go check them out. Come _right back _once you've assessed their power and intention, got it? No talking to them."

"What if they are friendly after all?" Starfire pressed.

Raven took her by the elbow. "Then we'll come back and say so." She said, dry as ever. "Let's go."

Rocks weren't exactly her idea of a good time, especially in the dark, by the ocean where it was slick. She might have been one to question why they were any where near an ocean, but with the year she'd had, not so much. She felt for her guns. All there. Next she felt for the man beside her. No such luck. "Rix?" She hissed into the darkness. The light waves over the stone drowned her out. "Rix!"

"Over here, gorgeous." Rix's voice finally penetrated the gloom. "What in hell happened, Mixy?"

"Not a clue." She replied, finally finding his elbow – he had landed in a bush and was in the process of extracting himself. Once he'd succeeded and dusted himself off, he looked around.

"Right. We're by the ocean, it's night, and I swear to god that's the San Francisco bridge right over there, ohmygod."

Mixy blinked at him, and then turned to where he was staring. Sure enough, the iconic bridge was lit well enough to see, and cars still crawled across it even though it must have been two in the morning. "I've be damned." She muttered. "Correct my history if I'm wrong, but wasn't that destroyed in the San-Fran-Bang?"

"Hell yeah it was." Rix said. "They lured the Zombies onto it from one side and blew it to high heaven. Took out about a thousand of them." He glanced over at her. "Would you hit me if I said I don't think we're in Kansas anymore?"

"I'd think about it seriously." Mixy replied, looking around. "Even if we never were in Kansas, and you appear to be righ-what the hell is that?" She pointed to a building in the other direction from the bridge.

"A building." Rix said helpfully. This time Mixy did swat him. "Ok, ok, I got no idea. Start by finding out?"

"There was never a building on any island by the bridge, was there?" Mixy asked. "I mean, granted, I never spent time in San Francisco, but would there have been pictures of… a T-Tower?"

"You'd think it'd have been a refuge for some rich guy." Rix said. "Though I'd have called it the Tower of T – has a ring to it."

"So does 'shut your trap and let's move'." Mixy said mildly.

"Or you'll T-Total me?" Rix asked, following her at a safe distance.

"Worse." Mixy said, "I'll T-Bag you. If they can make a T-Building, they make a T-Bag."

"Hard to come by Tea these days." Rix said. "Maybe not here though." He grabbed her elbow as she started walking so as not to lose her in the dark.

Picking their way along the coast on their way to the Tower was how Raven and Starfire found the two intruders, hovering to the inside of the island and some fifty feet off the ground. "They look friendly to me." Starfire said mournfully.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "There's something strange about the woman." She said, matter-of-fact. "One moment." She swooped in closer – only within one hundred feet of the two, completely silent – and that was when their stealth was shot to hell.

Being the most removed, Starfire was the only one that saw exactly what happened. Raven crossed some invisible point, and suddenly the woman shouted a very distasteful word in sheer terror, turned, and dove into the man behind her, pinning them both to the ground as a small hemisphere of power closed over the two of them. Raven swooped up again.

"What in the world?" she asked, frowning. Starfire started forward, but Raven shot out an arm to stop her. "Wait." She said. "Let's hear what she says to him about that."

Starfire looked at her, and noticed Raven's odd expression, nodded, and let them both fall back, silent to hear what was said.

"Mixy? Hey, Mixy? No guns, just me, feel a Zombie or something?"

"No…" The woman's voice was haunted. "Something worse… if that's even possible."

"Uh. Mixy. A Zombie is a human with its soul ripped out. What's worse than that?"

"A soul corrupted." Mixy said softly. Starfire and Raven glanced at each other in a sort of horror, and then kept listening. Mixy sat up, taking deep breaths and rubbing her face. "Gees. Maybe I'm going crazy. It was gone after a second, but it scared me half to death."

"And you cast a shield." Rix said. "You ok, after that?"

Mixy paused, and Starfire heard the frown in her tone as she replied. "Actually, I'm fine. A little winded, but more from being scared witless than anything. The ether here is really strong, I don't know why."

"Evan said the world was sick. Maybe he meant that, too." Rix said.

"God, if it's that deep, maybe he's right and it can't be fixed." Mixy said softly. Raven swallowed, the realization that they came from a dying world dawning on her. Mixy got up.

"What's it like?" Rix asked.

"Swimming in water as opposed to walking in air." Mixy replied immediately. "Come on. I see a light in that tower. Whoever's there might be able to answer a few questions.

"If we can convince them we didn't just drag ourselves out of the ocean from Alcatraz."

"There's always guns n' grenades." Mixy said helpfully. "Pretty sure that's a universal language."

"That's my girl." Rix said as they kept walking.

"The woman, Mixy, is aware of… something about me." Raven reported. She and Starfire had returned ahead of the two strangers. "They seem to hail from a world in process of dying. Neither knows how they got here, however they are not shy about their weapons."

"I thought they were funny." Starfire said. "Though they said something about Al… Alcapone?"

"Alcatraz." Raven said, shaking her head mildly.

"Big difference, Starfire." Beast boy said, morphing into a dog to scratch behind an ear easily, and then back into his humanoid form. "One's a mobster, one's a prison."

"That does not seem too different to me." Starfire said in confusion. "A criminal and a place for criminals?"

"Are they dangerous?" Robin asked to get them back on track.

"Yes." Raven said.

"No." Starfire said at the same time.

Robin just sighed.

"The woman may be. She cast a shield, and they were both armed."

"Raven must have surprised her somehow," Starfire said, "I'm sure if you and Beast Boy explained where they were and that we meant them no harm, they would be very nice."

"Still a little fuzzy on how Raven surprised her without making any noise or being at all visible." Robin said, getting up. "But all right. Starfire, you come too. Beast boy – choose an animal that's usually green so you don't freak them out too much."

"Should I walk?" Starfire asked.

"Yes, Star." Robin said patiently. "We're trying to at least resemble normalcy."

"Better hurry up Robin." Cyborg said, "They're about to knock on the front door, practically."

"Great." Robin said.

"Uh. Wow. That's really big, up close."

"It's only a few stories, Rix."

"And how were you planning on getting a hold of someone?" Rix asked.

"Knocking. Used to be a big trend, I'm told."

"Sure, before the world went nuts. You sure you're ok?"

"Fine, I promise, that must have just been a random residual or something."

"All right. So about this tower, and getting in…" Rix trailed off as he looked over at the door, finding it open. "Ok, never mind, so about the two people and a… green dog standing in the door. Should we shoot them?"

"No, we're trying not to get shot, and not shooting is a good way to start that." Mixy said dryly, turning to look at the people in the door. Had they been tracked? They studied each other for a moment. Mixy and Rix found a boy in red, green, yellow and black, hair cropped close and eyes covered in a mask. The dog was a basic mutt, except for it's oddly green color. The third was a lanky girl in purple, red hair natural and straight.

The titans had a view of a dark haired man, stubble on his chin and corded in lean muscle which covered an average sized frame. The woman was taller than Raven but shorter than Starfire, lithe, with incredibly red hair, crimson as new blood. Both were dressed in military like garb, belts and holsters carrying at least three guns each.

Starfire was the first to speak. "Hail, friends!" She called gaily. "What world do you come from?"

Rix and Mixy face faulted, and then stared at each other. "Uh…" Rix ventured. "I guess they call it Earth."

"So you're from here, then?" The man asked.

"Not exactly." Mixy said. "I am aware that we are the trespassers here, and thus you have the right of questioning, but if you would consider telling us exactly where we are, including this world's name?"

Robin looked at the woman oddly. He wasn't exactly used to a threat that deferred to him. That was probably because usually threats were pompous super-villians who used their powers for personal gain, yadda yadda. These guys just seemed lost. "San Francisco, California, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy… I don't think they've given the Universe a proper name."

"What's the year?" Rix asked.

"Two thousand and five." Robin said. "Are you from the future?"

"No…" Mixy said softly. "We're at least from the same time."

"But you are obviously not at home, or you would know who we are, yes?" Starfire said eagerly.

Mixy and Rix stared at them. "No clue." Rix finally said.

"Yeah, no idea." Mixy agreed.

Robin pursed his lips. "Check 'em out, Beastie Boy." He said.

Mixy and Rix glanced at each other. "Beastie boy?" Rix said. "Aw man, that band doesn't exist here? That's freaking depressing."

The green dog frolicked around them for a moment, sniffing at their shoes, and Rix's hand when he bent over, fondly giving the dog a scratch at the ear. "Hey boy." He said. "You got a good name."

Beast boy bounded back to Robin and Starfire, morphing into his humanoid self with his tongue still lolling out. "Lady smells a little weird, but they aren't lying. Or if they are they're really good at it."

Rix and Mixy drew their guns the second he changed over, the click of hammers sliding into place interrupting the changling's report. He turned, gulping. "Did I mention they've got guns? Lots of guns. Yeah. Um…" He morphed into a rat. The guns sank to his position there. A snake with the same effect. Finally, a bear. Neither backed down. Finally, Robin cut in before they actually went through with shooting him.

"It's all right. Beast boy, quit it, you're freaking them out." Beast boy sank into his humanoid form, looking at the two with respect.

"A bear!" he said, "A freakin' bear and you two don't even take a step back?!"

Mixy still had her gun trained on the boy, who was the same shade of green as the dog he'd started out as. "Bears die easy." She said simply.

"Bears'll at least just eat you." Rix said as if correcting her.

"What do you normally fight that would do something else?" Starfire asked, concerned.

Mixy and Rix glanced at each other. Mixy changed the subject. "If we put away our guns, will you tell us your names?"

Robin raised his eyebrows. "Sure." He said. Mixy and Rix holstered their firearms. Robin suspected she'd made the deal knowing they were both competent enough to draw them quickly again – neither had thrown the safety back, he noticed. "They call me Robin."

"Beast boy."

"Starfire. It's nice to meet you. May we know your names?"

The two glanced at each other again. Robin recognized the passing of consideration from the teams he'd seen and been in during his life. They'd been together awhile against something, anyway. "Mixy." The woman said.

"Name's Rix. And same about the nice to meet you thing. So I guess you guys don't have any Zombie problems here? Soul stealers? Impending Apocalypse?"

"Rix!" The woman hissed.

Robin took pity on the man. "Not really. Super villains, yeah. You know, freeze rays, take over the world, country or other piece of land, that kind of thing."

"Downgraded baddies." Rix said. "Any Yavina?"

The woman had apparently given up talking, and the man didn't appear to have ever noticed her venomous looks in the first place.

"Never heard of that." Beast boy said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Is it a bad guy of some sort?"

"No." The woman cut in, voice cold. "A Yavina is _me."_

"Oh." Beast boy said. "Sorry."

"Beast boy meant no harm." Starfire said desperately. "Really! We are just trying to get to know you, Mixy and Rix."

Rix looked at his partner with raised eyebrows. "Hey." He said. "You're the first Yavina they've met. Don't give 'em a bad impression, ya know?"

Mixy looked at the ground. "I am _not _the bad guy."

"Touch a nerve?" Beast boy asked, and called out. "Hey, it's ok! People call me a freak all the time! I mean, come on, I'm _green, _and it's not easy being green! I totally know how you feel!"

Rix slapped his forehead. "Oh come on. Kermit the frog, too?"

"No." Robin said. "We've got that. Beast Boy just thinks he's clever."

"Sounds somebody I know." Mixy muttered, but seemed to have calmed. "Is it just the three of you?"

"No." Robin replied. "Two of our friends are a little… different though. One may have freaked you out earlier when she got a bit too close in her reconnaissance. The other is a cyborg."

"No way!" Rix said, the excitement of a ten year old boy in his voice. "Like, half human half robot, full on Terminator!?"

"What's Terminator?" Beast boy asked.

"Ah, _Damnit!_" Rix cried. He turned to Mixy. "Do you believe this!? How can it possibly be the same world without… uh. Mixy?"

"That was a _she?_" Mixy asked lowly. "Do you have any idea what she is?"

"She's our friend." Robin stated calmly, looking her in the eye. "Problem?"

"Is she sane?" Mixy asked. "I mean, she's only got something about her that's corrupted as anything I've ever felt – and I've been in some shitastic brush ups."

"I take offense to that!" Starfire exclaimed, eyes glowing green as she glared. "You take that back!"

"No." Robin said. "Don't worry about it Starfire. Even Raven would agree with her." He turned to look at Mixy. "Raven is the daughter of a mortal woman and a demon of the underworld." He said. "She's fine of herself, though. Doesn't really take after dad."

Mixy looked at him dubiously. "Fine. What's with the glowing eyes? You aren't Yavina."

Robin looked at Starfire. "Uh. She can shoot bolts like the sun and fly."

"Sweet." Rix said. "And he can turn into animals…"

"So what about you?" Mixy asked.

Robin looked to the side. "Uh… Well. I'm the smart one."

The two outsiders looked at each other. "In that get up?" Rix finally said under his breath. Beast boy's ears slid into a pincher's, and he grinned. "I'd question that." Rix continued.

"More like the flamboyantly gay one." Mixy added. "But shut it anyway – if we play nice, they will, and we're kind of screwed otherwise."

Beast boy burst into giggles. "I like them." He declared. "Let 'em in, at least, Robin."

Robin's eyes narrowed, wondering what the two could have said to warrant that reaction, but sighed, deciding her didn't want to know. "One more thing." He said. "Your powers. What are they?"

Mixy pursed her lips. Rix rubbed a hand through thinning hair. Finally, the woman reached back, shaking out her impossibly red hair. "It's considered a separate breed of humanity." She said. "Called Yavina. I'm a magic user. We draw the latent power of the land, called Ether, through our souls, and shape it to do as our will intends. It's actually pretty common where we're from."

"A Yavina can really do just about anything, the only limit is their capacity from drawing ether, and the amount of ether around them." Rix said, and picked up a strand of darkish brown hair. "But, if you can't see in the light, I'm just a normal Joe… in _normal_ clothes."

Beast boy snorted. Robin chose not to react. "And how powerful are you, Mixy?"

Mixy shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. The shield I cast earlier would have wiped me out pretty good on my world, but it barely fazed me here."

"And what could that shield do on your world?"

"Stop just about any physical attack, and any magical attack my level or below."

Robin raised his eyebrows slightly. "Any physical attack?" He asked. "Are you certain?"

"Uh. Well, it kept a falling building from killing us once." Rix said. "She was out for a week, but here we are."

"That is very powerful." Starfire said. "I wonder if you could stand up to a Star bolt…"

"Let's… not find out just now." Robin said quickly. He pursed his lips at Mixy for a moment. "I'm trusting you. Don't fry my friends."

"S'long as they return the favor." Mixy said. "Let's go."

The meeting with Raven was rocky, but turned out for the best in the end, Robin supposed. He warned them as best he could, and kept an 'eye' on both sides through comlink (which had been open so Raven and Cyborg could hear what was going on outside). Mixy was obviously agitated as soon as she came within sensing distance of Raven, which Robin judged at about one hundred feet. Starfire, forgiving the woman her previous transgressions, tried to cheer her by telling her about Raven. Rix seemed more amused as she kept on.

"She's very smart, but likes to be alone, and she doesn't talk to very many people. Lots of people think she's mean, but really she's just very thoughtful and a little…"

"Paranoid?" Beast boy supplied.

"I was trying to find a nicer word." Starfire said, pressing her hands together. "But yes."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll understand each other perfectly." Rix said with a grin. "What's her power?"

"Well," Starfire said, "she can fly. She has telepathy and empathy and can go around as a shadow."

Mixy shuddered faintly. "Does she know her soul is-," She paused, looking for a word other than 'corrupt'. "-off?"

"She accidentally took us into a demon dimension through it once." Beast boy chimed in helpfully.

"Maybe we should take our chances with the government." Rix said. "I think I've still got my badge somewhere…"

"The government would send you back to us." Robin said, glancing at the ceiling and silently asking for patience. "Titans handle all the weird stuff."

"And you're weird as it gets at the moment." Best boy said.

"Says short, green, and multi-specied?" Rix muttered under his breath. Mixy elbowed him.

"Titans?" She asked.

"Teen Titans." Robin elaborated. "The team name."

"You really have no super-heroes in your world?" Starfire asked. "Superman? Wonder Woman? The Flash?"

Rix frowned suddenly. Mixy looked down. "Uh… sort of." Rix said softly.

"How do you _sort of _have Superman?" Beast boy asked in a joking tone. Robin cracked a smile.

"They don't actually exist." Mixy said, so flatly and without hope that the elevator went silent. "They're stories our world has lost. There are no real superheroes in our world. Just a sad memory of hope."

The rest of the ride was silent. The elevator opened, and Mixy caught her breath, looking immediately at the girl who was the concentration of so much wrongness. "Steady Mixy." Rix said softly.

Robin let everyone step out ahead of him, holding his breath. Mixy was tense, Raven just as tense, though he wasn't sure why. They were staring daggers at each other. Even Beast boy and Starfire were quiet, looking from one to the other. "You're demon touched too." Raven finally said.

"No, I'm not." Mixy replied.

"You're a descendant then." Raven said. "Soul magic accounts for how you sensed me, but I sense you too. That's a demon thing."

"A great-great-great-great-add-a-few-more-greats grandmother went insane and killed everyone but her daughter within a five mile radius?" Mixy suggested. "They always thought it was a Yaavina awakening, even though that was way before the divergence became obvious."

"Yup." Raven monotone. "Demon possession." She seemed to relax. "For the record, despite what you might sense, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Right." Mixy said, likewise relaxing. "Sorry I can't make exactly the same promise, but I'm a little unsure of my powers at the moment. Won't on purpose, though."

"Understood." Raven said. The tension dissolved.

Cyborg finally moved. "So. Can I say hi now that that's over?" He waved to the newcomers. "What's up?"

Rix gaped, and then threw his hands up. "Only the most awesome thing, ever!" He cried. "No Zombies! Super Heroes! And a Cyborg! Can we meet Wonder Woman? I read a few of the comics when I was a kid from my dad!"

"Uh…" Cyborg glanced at Robin, who shrugged, as if to say he was on his own. "How about we hear your story before we get on to the sight seeing? From what I've heard, you dropped in from another world?"

"Story time!" Beast boy interjected. "Who wants hot coco?"

"Coffee?" Mixy and Rix both asked hopefully.

Beast boy stuck out his tongue. "Ew, but ok. Anyone else?"

Drinks ordered, Mixy sighed and sank onto a couch. Rix stood beside her. Robin recognized the body language. Mixy was the leader – she trusted Rix to protect her though. Neither let their guard down simultaneous with the other. Their world was probably in some sort of war or other conflict. Obviously it was a divergent timeline since the year was the same. No superheroes, Yavina apparently had that slot. Robin felt a little sorry for them.

They'd mentioned a few things that were clues about what was going on. Zombies, corruption. The knew the government, but Robin wasn't entirely sure in what way. The way Rix had said he still had his badge implied that she shouldn't, yet the two were quite military, and even wore fairly official looking fatigues.

Beast boy returned with mugs of hot chocolate for everyone else, coffee for Mixy and Rix.

"Mm… not instant." Rix said, taking a deep sniff, and then a drink. He groaned in happy pleasure. "Whatever you want me to say, you've just bribed me into talking."

"Coffee-whore." Mixy said, but the pleasure on her face was obvious as she took a sip. "Where would you like us to start?"

"Is the beginning too far?" Robin asked.

Rix yawned. "My history's rusty."

"Same." Mixy said. "I can give you a rough sketch though."

"That'll do for tonight." Robin said, abruptly realizing that they had probably been awake for awhile.

"Right." Mixy said, and took another sip of coffee, sighing. "Well, I never saw it but near as I can tell, pre-apocalypse, our worlds were pretty similar."

"You never saw it?" Robin asked. "How long's this apocalypse been going on?"

"Most people think of apocalypses as 'boom and everthing's gone' kind of deals." Rix said. "Turns out that isn't the case. Ours is more like a slow bleed."

The Titans nodded. Mixy shrugged. "The bleed was happening before somehow. It got really bad about fifteen years ago. Yavina started turning into the bad guys for everyone. First we were just prejudiced against, then killed, and then experimented on to see if they could turn us 'human'." Mixy's hands turned white on the couch. "They figured out how to take our magic, but by no means did they make us human."

"What did they do, exactly?" Robin asked.

"I won't go through everything." Mixy said. "But in the end, they force Yavina to give up their souls. It turns their hair white, blinds them, and makes them… hungry."

"Hungry?" Beast boy asked. "I uh, take it not for burgers and fries?"

"Heh." Mixy said, closing her eyes. Rix looked a little off-color himself. "Not so much. We call them zombies. Yavina zombies eat souls and make more zombies. Human zombies eat flesh to get to the souls; it winds up just killing people. In a sick way, the Yavina Zombies are more refined."

"No wonder bears don't scare you." Beast boy said.

"Preferable, if a little ironic." Mixy said with a slight smile. "Being killed by a bear when you've been running from Zombies for so long."

"So how did you get here?" Robin asked to move the story along.

"Beats me." Mixy said. "We were travelling with a Yavina child named Evan. He's… ok, so this sounds strange, but he's going to destroy the world."

"To save it, that is." Rix quickly added.

"And you're helping him!?" Beast boy asked, wide eyed. "What, are you crazy?"

Mixy sighed. "You'd understand if you were there. " She said. "And we trust him."

"So he sent you here?" Robin asked. "Why?"

"Well, I don't know if he meant to." Mixy said.

"He's probably got the mojo." Rix said.

"We were ambushed by a particularly big Zombie horde, probably a thousand. Evan screamed something, there was a huge flash of light, and here we were."

"He must be very powerful." Starfire said softly. "To send you so far."

Both of them shrugged.

"Just a few more questions." Robin said. "You said you had government cards…"

"Deserted." Both said promptly.

"I was forced by a commanding officer to execute a human woman for defending a… Yavina child." Mixy said lowly. "I was supposed to kill the child, too, but Rix helped me desert." She twitched, not looking any of the titans in the eye.

A pause, and Robin quickly continued. "How old are you?"

"Thirty eight." Mixy said softly.

"Thirty five." Rix followed.

"You're old!" Beast boy cried. "Holy crud, I had no idea!"

"You don't seem surprised," Mixy said, looking over at Robin and Raven.

Robin shrugged. "Deduction."

"I could tell by our connection." Raven said to Mixy. "Plus he looks his age." Raven said, nodding to Rix.

"Disgusting, isn't it?" Rix asked with a grin. "No Yavina looks their age. They get to sixteen year old bodies when they're twelve, and stay there till they're practically forty. Something about the way ether works on anatomy."

"Provided I don't die some other way, I can expect to hit one-fifty." Mixy said.

"Normal in our world is sixty for a human, on the other hand." Rix said. He smirked, black humor in his tone. "After that you can't out run the hordes." The Titans blinked at that declaration. "Too dark?" Rix asked uncertainly.

"A little." Mixy drawled, and covered a yawn.

"Ah… how about we continue this conversation in the morning?" Robin asked. "You two must be tired."

"Exhausted, now that you mention it." Rix said. "We got cornered around ten pm, and we'd been running since four the previous day."

Starfire stood. "Well then! You must have some sleep. There are adjoining rooms downstairs, if you want. It would be terribly rude to completely separate you in unfamiliar circumstances."

Robin silently thanked the alien woman for so deftly handling the topic he wasn't sure how to bring up. Obviously the two knew each other well, but he hadn't drawn a hard and fast conclusion as to how well, yet. If they were lovers, they were careful ones, and if they weren't, or hadn't been in the past, he'd be surprised.

"Thanks." Rix said, smiling at Starfire. "That'd be great, really."

"We'll talk more in the morning." Mixy agreed. She looked around. "Ah… this may be a silly question – but are we safe here?"

"The only safer place is across the country with the JLA." Robin said. "Justice League of America – Superman, Wonder Woman, so on."

"Hey. Any place lacking Zombs is good for me." Rix said. "I'd be happy on the rocks out there."

"Don't push it, stupid." Mixy said, swatting the man's shoulder.

"Aw, Mixy, they know I'm joking!" He glanced around, reminding Robin of Beast Boy at his most coy. "Uh, you do, right?"

"Right!" Beast boy said, grinning. "I'll even make breakfast in the morning."

"Don't fall for it." Raven muttered. "It's fake food."

"Just because it's vegan does not make it fake!" Beast boy said indignantly.

"Starfire, will you show them down?" Robin said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And will you two not get into that again?"

Cyborg waved Mixy and Rix off as Beast Boy and Raven continued to mildly debate the nutritional properties of Tofu. "Sleep well." He said. "See you."

"See you big guy." Rix said with a grin.

"So. You think we'll be getting back?" Rix asked as they milled in the bathroom. Starfire seemed to have the impression they were falling asleep on their feet, quickly showed that their rooms connected through a common shower with a bathroom on either side, and left.

"I have no idea." Mixy said, leaning on the wall and closing her eyes. "Something tells me it isn't an accident though. I don't know if it's because he was taking pity on us and sent us somewhere better, or because he just sent us anywhere away from that horde, or he's just keeping us safe for the moment here, but I have every faith Evan isn't just leaving us."

"Yeah, same here." Rix said, and sighed, sinking onto the bathtub. "Kind of wish he was, though."

Mixy smiled. "You'd get bored here, I bet."

"Not a chance." Rix said, and smiled at her, a small genuine smile. "For once, we'd be free to start over."

"Please, Rix. Don't fill my head." Mixy said softly, looking down, throat tight. She didn't believe for a moment they'd be able to start over, and she couldn't entertain the belief. It would be too hard to go back, otherwise

He sighed. "I get it. You're right. Come on. I'll sleep on your floor just to be safe."

Mixy smiled a little. "I was going to call the floor."

"Well, there's room enough for both if the bed's too soft." Rix said. "We can make a little nest and freak the hell out of the teenagers."

Mixy laughed, spirits lifted again.

"What do you think?" Robin asked Cyborg softly after everyone else had gone. Cyborg was frowning at his computer screen, arms crossed.

"I think I don't like it." He said simply. "Something fishy about two people showing up at seemingly random, makes me think something's going to happen."

"Yeah." Robin said. "Same. And about them?"

"Chick's a little uptight." Cyborg said. "Reminds me of Raven."

"Heh. I think we all got that." Robin replied. "In a weird, slightly less messed up but more confused way."

"The guy's cool with me though." The half-man said with a grin.

Robin chuckled. "No doubt."

"You think they're dating?" Cyborg asked.

"I actually hadn't decided." Robin answered honestly. "It seems likely though."

"Well. Let's hope that's the most of our questions about them eventually." Cyborg sighed. "Sounds like they come from a rough place though. I almost hope they get to stick around."

"If they do, we'd have to find a place for them." Robin said. "Mixy might fit in as a super hero, though I doubt they'd stick around here." He smirked. "If she's as powerful as they're implying, I can't wait to see her fight. I don't know about Rix though."

"Should I contact the JLA?" Cyborg asked.

"Give it a day." Robin said. "Don't want to overwhelm them."

"Yeah." Cyborg said. "All right. Go to bed, Robin. I'll keep watch for a bit."

Raven sat up in bed, unable to sleep. There was a pressure that hadn't let up since the two strangers had appeared. It was like her ears were plugged and unable to pop. She meditated, and saw the bulge, a push through like a heavy ball on thin plastic. Something was coming, and if it didn't have something to do with Mixy and Rix, she'd eat her cloak. She sat up the entire night, watching it. No need to mention it just yet – when it got closer to breaking through, she would tell them.

Was it compassion that kept her from going to Mixy now and telling her there was something trying to follow them? It didn't matter, she couldn't do anything but watch it.

The next morning was a flurry of testing, talking, and experimenting. Mixy insisted that she wanted to conduct all tests away from the tower, so they went to the other end of the island. "So can you throw fire?" Beast boy asked.

"Yes." Mixy said with a grin. She flicked a hand through the air, turning on a heel, and shot a pillar of flame into the sky. The Titans cheered, and Rix whistled. The red-headed woman seemed more exhilarated than anything. "Your world is incredible!" She said, smiling widely.

"Thank you!" Starfire said with a pleased air. "May I test against your shield?"

Mixy nodded. "I have no idea what will happen, so… aim at that rock." She said. A milky white light surrounded the rock.

Starfire took a breath and shot a stream of green yellow light which had Rix scrambling to cover his eyes. There was an explosion like a crack of lightning, and Mixy chuckled. "Yeah. Not so much."

"Well, it is the power of a sun." Starfire said humbly. "Perhaps that would be considered a higher level?"

Mixy laughed in a sort of joyous delight which Rix had to open his eyes to see. "Yes, I would definitely think so. Cyborg – you've got big guns, care to try?"

"Sure." Cyborg said, stepping up with a clank against the rocks. "No use being surprised."

Cyborg's various instruments were all physically based, and thus did not fell the shield, and Mixy's mood only seemed to improve as they spent the next hour asking her if she could do something, and she found out. It turned out the Titan's imagination went a little further than Rix's, the questions went from heat vision (no, but an approximation not involving the eyes was easy) to ice breath, (she could make it a little cooler) to a truth lasso (she could check for truthfulness, but stopped short of a truth spell, saying it was a little dangerous) and creating a hammer to smash something (That was under the field of conjuration, something someone named Aremanah might manage here, but not her). At the end of an hour, Mixy finally sat down, breathing hard but grinning like a child. "That was fun!" She declared. "Thanks."

"Hey! No problem." Beast boy said, striking a pose. "We're just awesome like that. Are you tired? We haven't asked if you can fly."

"I'm not too tired, just excited." Mixy said, a flicker of mischievous fun in her eyes. "And I could fly if I wanted, but I think it's easier to do this." She grabbed Rix's wrist and they both were wiped out of existence, appearing again about twenty feet away a second later. The Titan's erupted into whoops.

"That's so awesome! How far can you go!?" Beast boy asked.

Mixy shrugged, letting go of Rix, who blinked at her in some sort of silent amazement, and then laughed along with everyone else. "Anywhere there's land." She said simply. "I think."

"How many could you take?" Robin asked. "That's one second versus five minutes to get somewhere."

"I'd have to be touching you, but other than that… well. And I really have no idea how your powers would take to ether magic."

"Worth experimenting on if you end up staying." Robin said. "Do you think you will?"

Rix glanced over at his partner, who sighed. "Evan never does anything for nothing, for all he's thirteen." Mixy said. "I don't know why he sent us here, but there's a reason, and it wasn't just to save us."

"This Evan," Starfire said, "Is he kind? Likely to attack this place, or send someone our way?"

Mixy shrugged. "He's the one destined to destroy our entire universe to save it. You tell me, because I don't know."

"So he is kind but will not hesitate to do what he must?" Starfire asked, frowning.

"That sounds about right." Rix said softly. "He's nice enough anyway."

"How do you know you can trust him?" Robin asked, frowning. They seemed to be taking an awful lot on faith.

"It isn't really about trust." Mixy said softly. She was interrupted before she could say any more.

Raven, who hadn't been participating but was listening, looked up and at Mixy oddly. "I don't think you're the end of it." She said suddenly. "There's more coming."

That threw the conversation off enough that everyone turned to her. Raven, having known what Mixy and Rix were about to admit, and also knowing the other Titans really had no reason to hear why the two were following the Yavina child. "What do you mean?" Mixy asked.

Raven stood, sighing. "Something's been trying to push through the dimensional fabric since last night, probably since you got here. I didn't say anything because I was hoping it was a mistake, or that it would be stopped. But it's getting stronger and bigger, right near down town, so I think we should rest and get ready for it, whatever it is."

The Teen titans grimaced. Robin immediately turned to the strangers. "I need info, now." He said. "What's the worst thing that can come through that portal?"

"Zombies." Rix said softly. "Lots of them."

"As long as there's not Yavina they'll only kill people." Mixy said, frowning at the ground, and took a slow breath, eyes widening. "But you don't have Yavina… oh my god."

"That's why." Rix said. "I'll be damned." He looked up at Robin. "You need to get everyone in that city as far up in their buildings as they can go, and lock every door on the way. The Zombies have trouble with stairs and locked doors unless someone's right in front of them. Think of them as a velociraptor and a cow put together. Vicious but dumb."

Beast boy immediately popped into something that mildly resembled what Rix had described. The man laughed wearily. "Perfect." He said.

"And us? What can we do?" Robin asked.

Mixy had closed her eyes, head bowed in something like utter defeat. Just for half a moment she'd thought she might have escaped the horror of her world, but Raven had been protecting them all along. She didn't know if she was glad or angry about that. "Robin, stay with Rix – he knows how to handle them."

"I got your back, boy wonder." Rix said with a grin. "You'll need guns and things that go boom."

"And me?" Cyborg asked.

"You and Beast Boy." Mixy said softly. "Beast boy – your thing to keep in mind is big. These things will be humans."

"Then why must we fight them?" Starfire asked. "Can't they be redeemed?"

"No!" Mixy said. "No." She sat down, slumping over. "Think of it like this. You have a piece of you that is infallibly you. There is nothing anyone can do to change it, and it is your most precious part of you, the part which give you life and the hope to live it out. A zombie does not have that part. They have no hope, no feelings other than hunger, and no thoughts."

"But you said someone did that to them." Starfire said softly. "Can't we give it back? Can't we undo the experimenting? Console them? Help them?"

Mixy looked up at the girl, expression bleak and sad. "I wish we could, Starfire. But the Yavina who were experimented gave up their souls by their own choice."

"Why would they do that?" Robin asked, frowning.

"Think along the lines of twelve hours of torture and rape, throw in a bit of sick blood mojo, and you'll be along the right lines." Rix said roughly. "Just trust us. It can't be done. They don't look very human anyway, so don't worry about hesitating because of their looks."

Raven shifted. "We need to get started." She said, not surprised by the revelation about the experiment. "It's getting more powerful. How many would you expect?"

Mixy shook her head. "I don't know." She said, and looked at Starfire. "You can just shoot from the air. They don't get the up concept too easily." Starfire nodded sadly.

"Do you think we should call back up?" Robin asked.

Rix grimaced, softly asking Mixy. "How big was that horde that was chasing us?"

"A thousand strong." Mixy said.

"Was that the San Francisco Horde?" Rix asked.

Mixy blinked and sat up a little. "No." she said. "No, it wasn't. And we had to get through San Francisco so Evan could get to some part of the fault lines." She took a shallow breath. "He's sending them here."

"That's over ten thousand." Rix said softly. "We're boned, aren't we?"

"Right." Robin said, gritting his teeth. "So, back up."

"Anyone you can call." Mixy said. "You're looking at a minimum of eleven thousand vicious zombies. They don't have guns or anything, and they're easy to mow down but… their strength in numbers thing is very compelling."

"And I don't think we've ever handled much more than two hundred…" Cyborg said. "I'm going to go send out the call."

"Hurry." Raven said softly. "There's maybe an hour to go. After that I'm not sure. I can't even tell how they're going to come out."

"Let's go people." Robin said. "New kind of fight for us, and we aren't going to lose!"

The streets were blessedly clear, thanks to Robin's command of the emergency broadcast network. He stood on top of one of the buildings with Raven and Rix, watching Beast boy and Cyborg on the ground below. Starfire was nervously making loops in the air, trying to feel around for the same 'bulge' that even Mixy had started to sense. Mixy herself was sitting on the top of a car, both feet braced on the windshield without a care to personal property. Rix had explained that most cars were abandoned wrecks in their world, so she'd just forgotten where they were. It didn't make Robin feel much better.

"I'm not sure how happy I am about this." He muttered to Raven as Rix walked a few feet away to hail Mixy on the Radio and check out what was going on.

"You shouldn't be." Raven said. "Someone decided to use our world as a dumping ground for their problem. We should probably count ourselves lucky he also chose to send help."

"You seem to know a bit about it." Robin murmured.

"Mixy's soul is etched with the things she's done." Raven said. "It's an open book kind of thing."

"What's it say?" Robin asked.

Raven was silent for a little while. "You remember the reason she and Rix deserted the army?" she asked finally.

"She had to execute someone."

"Not just someone." Raven said. "Evan's mother. Right in front of him."

"But she couldn't kill Evan." Robin said softly. "That's what she meant when she said it wasn't about faith."

"It's about repayment." Raven confirmed. "They don't belong here, Robin. They never will. It isn't as obvious to you, but they don't belong here any more than I do."

"You belong here, Raven." Robin countered, frowning.

Raven seemed to smirk beneath her hood. "Nice of you to say." She said. "We both know you're lying."

"You mind telling me something?" Robin asked.

"Depends."

"Are they, you know, together?"

Raven shrugged. "There's no hope on their world." She said. "What do you think?" She walked away, leaving Robin, not for the first time with Raven's rhetorical questions, a little stumped.

"Almost there," Raven said softly. "Get ready!"

"Stand by." Robin said in the comlinks. The tension in the city grew, and Robin suddenly felt what Mixy and Raven must have been feeling for hours. It was like he was in an airplane, climbing with an abruptness that took his breath away, and a dull roar that was not a physical sound but a dizzying mental quality throbbed through his mind. And suddenly the street was no longer clear.

"Holy buckets, batman…" Rix said softly. "There they are."

There was a veritable sea of white hair. Had it not all been shambling, white haired… people-things, Robin might have thought he was on the boardwalk during a festival or something. Robin heard squeals over his comlink, and he realized it was screams of the zombies as the charged at beast boy and Cyborg. Beast boy morphed into a dinosaur and roared, bending down to bull rush forward, leading the way for Cyborg to run behind, blasting as he went. Even as they went through, Robin realized that the entire _street _probably all of downtown was full of shambling zombies. It was a damn good thing Mixy and Rix had known where to put everyone.

"Hope you people have good insurance." Rix said as he took aim with a small missile launcher and shot at a car. It blew to high heaven, taking out a paltry twenty zombies.

"There's a reason premiums are through the roof here." Robin replied, and sighed as he took out his own Missile launcher, an extra from cyborg's stash, and followed Rix's lead.

"Where's Starfire and Raven?" Rix asked, frowning suddenly.

"Raven is probably explaining why it's ok to kill these guys." Robin replied. "Have to admit, I'm only good with it cause I can't seem 'em well."

"It gets easier once you've had a few try to nibble on you." Rix said with a jovial grin.

"You've got a sick sense of humor, don't you?" Robin asked.

"Only on days that end in 'y'." Rix replied, and shot off another missile, this one setting off a delivery truck and the car beside it. "Just like home." He said. There was an explosion off to the side, and a whirl of fire as Mixy blew a fifty foot radius of fire around her. "Except that part. That part's new."

"What's normal in that department?" Robin asked as he shot off another.

"Usually she's in your position." Rix said with a grin. "Gotta say, kind of a down grade in the looks department."

"I'll take that as a matter of preference." Robin deadpanned, pausing to communicate over the links. "Raven? Starfire? How you doing?"

"Raven has left me to 'take care of Palm street'" Starfire said, sounding unsteady. "I do not like these people Robin, they feel wrong to me – and though they are blind they somehow know exactly where I am!"

"They're sensing you, Starfire," Rix said, leaning over to speak into the link. "And they should feel wrong to you – they are wrong. Just stay up, keep blasting and you'll be all right."

"Where's Raven?" Robin asked.

"I do not know!" Starfire cried in dismay. "She just said she was going to 'find the reason'."

Robin glanced at Rix, who shrugged. "Maybe Evan followed the horde through?" he asked. "Mixy'll feel it if he does."

"Starfire," Robin said, "Leave Palm for now and go up – I want you to give me an estimate how many there are."

"Roger that." Starfire said, and Robin glanced over to their left as a bright green spark shot up over the buildings and hovered for a moment. "Um… Robin…"

"Just tell me, Star." He said.

"I cannot count them." Starfire said. "But I can see them around for miles. Almost all the way to the suburbs, and all over the river, and…oh Robin… they're everywhere!"

"All right." Robin said quietly. "Thanks Starfire. Go back to the fight."

"Robin!" Cyborg's voice cut in. "A little help here! We're right below you – Beast boy had a couple of hunks ripped out of him and he doesn't feel so good…"

"Can he become a Zombie with a couple of hunks?" Robin asked.

"No." Rix said. "None of you are Yavina. They'll have to rip him apart."

"Hey, great." Robin said with false cheer. "All right Cyborg. Have beast boy make another bulrush – we'll hit the ones that give chase."

"Go for Mixy." Rix said. "She might be able to heal."

Robin blinked. "Right. When you're ready, you two."

A pause, and then the Tyrannosaurus roar again. "Have I mentioned how utterly amazingly awesome it is that he can turn into a Dinosaur?" Rix asked as he unpinned a grenade and tossed it after the now rampaging T-rex and Cyborg.

"Amazingly, no." Robin said. "I'm surprised it took you so long."

"Distractions, you know, that kind of thing." Rix said. "Hey, I think we're actually doing pretty good. This street block is almost clear."

"Yeah, only sixty more streets to go." Robin replied a little glumly.

"One thing at a time buddy." Rix said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Your team is doing pretty awesome for their first full scale invasion, you know?"

Robin rolled his eyes, watching Beast Boy and Cyborg slide over to where Mixy was pausing mid-firestorm to let them through.

"Mixy, Rix mentioned you might be able to heal?"

Mixy blinked at the two Titans who had just skidded to a stop in front of her, Beast boy panting into his humanoid form from a gigantic T-rex of all things. "Holy shit you can change fast." She said.

Beast boy grinned. "Pretty cool, huh?" he asked a little weakly. "They keep biting me. It isn't bad at first, but after that it starts getting annoying and it hurts now…"

"I can see how that might be…" Mixy said, frowning. As the Rex she hadn't noticed many wounds. As a boy, his legs were covered in blood, and his suit was getting ripped. She stood up. "It'll take a minute." She said. "I think I can remember how, it's usually way too taxing."

"I got it." Cyborg said. "Just do it."

Mixy glanced around. The block was littered with fallen zombies but somewhat clear of walking ones. "All right." She said, kneeling by Beast boy. "Call Starfire over just to be safe, I'll get started."

Cyborg kept a close look out, listening to Mixy's breathing slow, and feeling a soft light like the sun at his back. Beast boy laughed suddenly. "I feel great!" He said. "Wow! That's awesome!"

Mixy smiled. "Runs in the family." She said with a smile. "Come on. Rix and Robin went that way, let's take the other."

"Right!" Beast boy said, and melted _up _into an Apatosaurus. Mixy couldn't keep from staring with her jaw dropped.

"May I help you up?" Cyborg asked with a grin.

"You're kidding." Mixy said flatly.

"Nope!" Cyborg said with a grin.

"OhmigodIgettorideadinosaur." Mixy said. The dinosaur trumpeted what sounded like a laugh. "All right, all right, let's go!"

Three hours in and Raven hadn't been seen once. They were doing fairly good all things considered, but by no means were they free and clear, Robin thought. For one thing, they'd started out with what Robin estimated was thirty thousand zombies. They were probably down to twenty thousand. Rix had finally moved to the ground and Mixy was finally tiring out when the Justice league arrived – or at least Wonder Woman and Batman showed up.

"Wow. And I thought we had it bad with a couple of mad scientists and a gang shoot out." Batman observed.

"What brought this on?" Wonder Woman asked, frowning as he looked over the building's lip at Rix and Mixy sitting back to back, talking to Cyborg and Starfire. Beast boy was watching in the form of a cobra curled at Mixy's feet, sensing ground vibrations. "And who are those two?"

Robin explained as quickly and thoroughly as he could manage. Amazingly, he managed to cut it down to five minutes. "It's not that they're powerful or anything." He said, frowning. "Though they do get tiring after awhile. Mixy said it's probably the effect of them being here at all, it might have a mild sapping effect on the spirit. Mostly it's that there's so many, and we can't go all out with people in the city and a future to think of."

"So…" Wonder Woman said. "It's a variation on Power girl showing up, except a lot less happy of an ending, and a lot less in common."

"Something like that." Robin said. "We can use whatever help we can get. Not something I like to admit, but usually we don't, you know, get entire armies."

"Well, there was that time Ares led the dead on DC," Wonder Woman said.

"Pity Superman isn't here." Batman said. "He'd enjoy beating these guys."

"Well, he is on vacation with Louis." Wonder Woman replied with a hard smirk. "Probably beating other things."

"Anything else we should know before we go in?" Batman asked, rolling his eyes.

Robin glanced down at Mixy and Rix, thinking of what they'd told him. "Don't get caught unless you want to be dinner." He said. "And go meet Mixy just to make sure you aren't Yavina. That'd be bad."

Wonder Woman descended with Batman, standing over Mixy with an interested expression. "Mixy? Robin tells me you're a former soldier – what was your rank?"

Mixy looked up at Wonder Woman oddly, and then turned to look at Rix, who shrugged. "Colonel." She said finally. "I'm not exactly proud of it. Your military must be a bit more honorable if you're interested."

"Our fighting men and women are the best." Wonder Woman said, eyes narrowing in immediate distrust. "Why didn't you ask the titans to call them in? They could have helped."

"Because a guy with a gun is easily overwhelmed without experience in this particular fight." Mixy said, glaring at the woman. "In fact, a tank is pretty easily overrun – I've watched it happen. And the titans said that with a little help from – what I'm assume is you – and a little patience, we could take out this horde without military intervention."

"This is an invasion, Colonel," Wonder Woman said severely. "Surely it didn't escape your notice that this may be a government concern?"

Mixy twitched. Rix glanced at Cyborg, who was looking a little put off but also defeated. Beast boy had coiled up, hood out, but hadn't hissed, just watching the other super heroes closely. Rix's excitement at meeting the Amazon was successfully shot into a puff of smoke.

"No," the red head said, "Oddly enough it didn't." She stood up, not even coming up to Wonder Woman's chin but glaring as if she was a foot taller. "But I don't trust the government. Not mine, not yours. And even if I had complete trust in _your _government, I still wouldn't have called them in, because I'd rather not send a bunch of this world's good people to have their flesh torn apart in a fight for that last bit of sweet flesh, and know that somewhere their soul is being ripped apart as well."

"They know what they sign up for, Col-"

"Call me that one more time." Mixy snarled, "Go ahead!"

"Mixy-" Rix said, standing up next to her.

"Diana, leave off." Batman said finally. "It's not that hard to tell they're not from around here."

"If you don't care about your country, what are you fighting for?" Wonder woman asked after a moment, still frowning.

"I'm fighting for the right to die without fear." Mixy said. She looked down. "Neither of you are Yavina. You're fine to fight."

"And if I had been Yavina?" Wonder Woman said. "What would you have done to stop me?"

Mixy just stared at the Amazon, shaking her head. "Jesus Rix, I thought you had a crush on her. What a bitch." She turned around. "Quit talking and get fighting. There's still twenty thousand or so out there, and they're still concentrated."

Rix grimaced. "She's just tired." He said to Batman. "It's been a bad few days."

"Understood." Batman said. "Diana. It isn't like you to get so riled up – let's go."

"I don't like deserters and betrayers." Wonderwoman said pointedly.

Rix didn't have time to explain or react before Mixy whipped around, a blinding flash of magic half bending Wonder Woman over. "They made me put a gun to a woman's head and blow out her brains in front of her son." Mixy spat. Wonder Woman was able to resist the ether magic, gritting her teeth, but Mixy put more into it, eyes blazing anger. "They asked her: Do you believe he is your savior? She looked right up into my eyes, smiled, and said 'Yes'. And I had to decide right then if it was going to blow out her brains and save her son, or save her and let them kill that boy." The battle of wills continued as Mixy walked up to Wonder Woman, who had managed to straighten up, though it didn't look like she quite had all of her movement yet. "So you tell me: who betrayed who!?"

Wonder Woman grunted, rolling her shoulders, and the ether magic seemed to shatter with a silent vibration. Mixy fell to her knees, head almost bowed into the ground in exertion, and Rix growled. "Fuck. Will you two just get out of here? We're supposed to be on the same side!"

Batman was simply frowning, and glanced at the Amazon beside him, who dispassionately regarded Mixy for a moment and then turned. "Weakling girl," she muttered. "You could have chosen to die yourself."

"Maybe she thought she'd do more good alive." Batman murmured. "Anyway, is it your place to judge something you don't understand?"

"Is it your place to judge that I do not understand in the first place?" Wonder Woman asked, and launched into the air. "In any case, I trust you will not need my help with explosives."

"No, I imagine not." Batman grumbled, wishing Superman had come along, or that Wonder Woman had at least let him do the talking. Not only had she made a bad impression, but she'd provoked one of their fighters into exhausting herself. Unprofessional of the red-headed woman. He shook his head. There was work to be done.

Robin, watching Wonder Woman take out Zombies by the hundreds, sighed. The JLA folks had a tendency to intimidate when they didn't think they were exactly in control, especially Wonder Woman. Superman would have been a better choice, but the important bit was that they would be able to let the Titans and the other two rest for a bit. He grimaced, reminded that he was still missing a team member.

"Raven." He said into the comlink. "Where are you? You've been missing since the beginning of the fight."

"Busy." Was the reply.

"Great, so are we." Robin said. "Mind giving me something more than that?"

"Really busy."

"Raven!"

"Evan says they'll be there in a few minutes."

Robin blinked at the comlink. "All right…" he muttered to himself. "Sure. Why not?"

Wonder Woman was mowing down the latest part of the horde to come at her, starting to understand what Robin had meant about being winded just by their presence. It was very subtle. She considered making certain that Batman was well, but he was probably up on top of the buildings as Robin was. They worked similarly. As she surveyed the block, looking over the vast amount of the horde that was at the next cross street, shambling towards her, there was a throb of light, and she felt the sudden need to pop her ears. Rising into the air, Wonder Woman shielded her eyes, then peered out. She started slightly – every Zombie on the street was dead! Her eyes followed the now flattened bodies, looking for the source, and found two figures at the end of the block.

One was a chocolate skinned woman with green and blue hair shockingly bright as the red-head. The other was a pale boy who looked about sixteen, if a little lankier than most boys that age, who waved. Wonder Woman made her way over to them, narrowing her eyes as she got close enough. "Identify yourselves and your origin." She barked.

"Evan and Aremanah." The boy called, shading his eyes and smiling happily. "We came from the same world as the Zombies, and we have to get Rix and Mixy. Unless you can send them here? Aremanah and I can help, since the ether is so easy to access here."

Wonder Woman's lips twisted. "The man and the Woman are a mile away at the least. How quickly do you need them?"

"Oh, I imagine Raven can keep the portal stable without us for a good half hour," Evan said, beaming. "Sorry for the trouble by the way, Diana. I know Mixy's a little hard to get on with, but she's really not that bad."

Wonder Woman landed, scrutinizing the boy and the woman a little closer. The woman was staring openly around, and as she turned to tap into the Titan's comlinks, wonder woman heard Aremanah murmur in awe. "Evan… is this what it was like… before?"

"Something like this, yeah." Evan said simply. "Not many worlds have our problem, but most of them have Yavina."

"You really should have explained what was going on to them."

"I would have, but there really wasn't time. Besides, they're smart, and they got help."

Wonder Woman frowned, finally tuning to the channel. "Robin?" She asked. "I've got two unidentified people here. They say their names are Evan and Aremanah. Ring a bell?"

"Yeah. Mixy says Aremanah is Evan's guardian."

Wonder Woman raised an eyebrow. "Also, your missing team member is holding open some portal or something."

"Raven?" Robin said incredulously. "By herself?"

"I got it open." Evan said airily. "Raven's just holding it steady so we could come say thanks and get Rix and Mixy."

"Should I send them over?" Robin asked over the link. Wonder Woman started – it hadn't been open when Evan spoke. Weird.

"If you could." Evan said with a smile. He turned to the black woman. "I'll be right back. You can just chill out."

"All right, Evan." Aremanah said softly, voice laced with wonder. The boy abruptly disappeared.

Wonder Woman blinked. "Where'd he go?" She asked. The woman shrugged.

"Probably to clean up a bit. He feels bad for sending them here, but under the circumstances, we thought it best."

"He brought this upon us?" Wonder woman asked, hackles rising.

Aremanah just smiled a small, exhausted smile. "I'm sorry." She said. "I really am. But we're so close. We had to do something to get into the city."

"Close to what?" Wonder Woman snapped.

The other woman didn't react the same as Mixy would have. She just smiled a little more, like someone looking forward to their bed at the end of a hard day. "Starting over." She said. "Once we take Rix and Mixy back, Evan will be able to account for everyone and take the last step."

"Talk sense, woman." Wonder Woman said. "What are you saying?"

"He's going to end the world and recreate it." Aremanah said, still smiling. She looked around, smiling sadly. "I hope he makes it like this."

"And you're just going to let him do it?!" Wonder woman asked in horror. "You aren't going to fight him? We struggle near daily to keep various things from ending the world and you try to shepherd it in!? No wonder the military was so firm about killing that Zealot!" She sneered. "Who betrayed who, indeed, that deserter woman!"

Aremanah just cocked her head, frowning for the first time. "I'd appreciate you not insulting my best friend's death like that, was it Diana?" She said calmly.

"You don't seem to be any stronger than her." Wonder Woman spat back. "You're fighting on the wrong side." Aremanah just sighed, looking down. Diana pressed her. "You could all stay here and fight with us. We would help you. Obviously the man would be no good, but you and Mixy are both powerful enough to protect a city, if you would just let go of this notion that he's a savior. He's a _boy!_"

Aremanah looked up, sighing. "Please stop." She said. "Is there anything I can say that would make you understand? Anything at all?"

"You can tell me what ever in your life sapped the hope and life from you such that you believed it was best for your world to die rather than fight!" Wonder Woman said.

The black woman sighed, closing her eyes. "That's easy. Liza said 'Yes'."

"Explain yourself."

"I don't feel like it."

The lasso finally came out, but Aremanah was not in the same spot she had been when Wonder Woman threw it at her. Suddenly, she was flattened to the ground, a force on her back greater by far than the pitiful tug Mixy had displayed. It occurred to her that Aremanah – if this was Aremanah – could have thrown down with Superman. She was rolled over to face a still calm Aremanah, one hand splayed. She was missing her first finger.

"I expect this to be the end of the conversation." Aremanah said simply. "When Liza and Evan were captured for the first time, I was with them. Have you ever been raped, Diana?" She wiggled her pointer finger stump. "Have you ever had a limb severed, and your own blood dripped into your eyes? Have you ever heard the specter cries of a thousand tortured ghosts burning into your skin? Have you ever had someone attempt to rip your soul from your body?" She leaned down. "And the worst part? Being saved by the very woman who shot your best friend between the eyes? Waking up hurting in ways, in places that never should be? No, the worst part is finding out that the boy you call your son was conceived in that same horror you just underwent, by a different woman, who stares at you with white eyes and white hair and says that at the moment she lost her soul, she swore vengeance, and thus conceived a son." Aremanah stepped back, letting the Amazon up, and turned away. "That is when I lost my hope to heal my world."

Wonder Woman stood up, brushing herself off slowly and carefully. Finally, she looked at the woman. "My mother was raped." She said softly. "And she exacted vengeance. Is that why you do this? For revenge?"

"Me?' Aremanah asked. "Yes. Evan? No."

"Why does he do it?" Wonder woman asked.

"He does it out of love." Aremanah said. "That is why we follow him. Otherwise, perhaps you would have been right to dissuade me."

Wonder Woman considered this for a moment. "I think I finally understand. Thank you for helping me."

"Help your world." Aremanah said. "Save it in every way you can. Keep your soul strong."

"By Hera's will." Wonder Woman said softly, and took flight, looking for more Zombies.

"Mixy, wait." Rix stopped her just before they turned the corner where Robin had said Aremanah and Evan would be waiting. Mixy turned, looking at him, and then his hand on her wrist. He shifted, catching her fingers. "We're walking into our deaths going back there."

"I know." Mixy replied softly, turning fully towards him.

"Mixy, we're in another world, another place. Can we start over here?" Rix said, pulling her closer.

"Rix… I'm tired. I'm exhausted. Aren't you?"

He smiled slightly. "That isn't what I meant." He said.

"Then what?" Mixy asked, frowning.

"I love you, Mixy." Rix said assuredly, eyes holding hers. "If I can't say it there, I'm going to say it here. I love you and I always have. Another world, another time, I would have given you everything I possibly could – married you, served you, borne your children…"

"Rix…" Mixy whispered, blinking away tears and laughing at the same time. "You're a man."

"Wouldn't have stopped me." He said simply, pausing and looking down at her. "Mixy, please."

"Of course I love you, idiot!" Mixy cried, letting go of his hands to hug him tightly. "You're the reason I'm alive, more than that! You're why I kept walking all those years! I love you!"

"Good." He whispered, tipping up her chin. "We've got ten minutes before we have to reset."

Some half a mile away, Evan paused in his magic, sighing. "I wish I could have let you have more than that." He murmured to the sky.

Beast Boy was rampaging as an Apatosaurus again when night fell. Raven had returned to the roof top, muttering that the four of them were gone, and no, he really didn't want to know where she'd been, other than helping Evan, and then slumping onto a concrete slab and falling asleep.

"How many do you think are left, Starfire?" Robin asked.

The alien girl sighed. "Maybe eight thousand?" she said. "Wonder Woman and Batman are working on the east side of the city now, but there's a lot left to do."

"We'll get there." Robin said again. "We just have to be patient, and so far no one's even died. Batman called in some more help from the JLA, so they should be here so-."

There was an explosion of epic proportions, rocking everything a little, a light flashing bright as day. The teen Titans scrambled to find out what had happened, Raven waking with a small shout.

"Mixy?" Robin asked her.

"No!" She shouted, leaning over the side of the building to stare at a man who had dirty blonde hair, golden eyes that gleamed in the night, and a sneering smile.

"Who are you?" Starfire asked, wide eyed.

The man looked at the three of them, chuckling. "Who am I?" he said in a diamond hard, hissing voice. He paused, and then laughed raucously, tipping up his head and shaking his head as he snickered. Robin wondered if he was going to be considered a good thing or bad thing. Judging by the goosebumps on his arms and the inclination to run, he figured bad. "My name is Waesin Gyn."

_End_


End file.
